What strings for me?

[J.Wolf]

I'm all about DR Hi-Beams, but by your description you might prefer the low riders or sunbeams. Personally I like steels because they corrode / die a lot slower than nickel, and I like bright because my bass has a tone knob. YMMV.

I've been doing that but rolling off the passive tone cuts a lot of mids and upper mids as well, which I want to keep. I know not all tone knobs are created equal though

 

[static0verdrive]

I've been doing that but rolling off the passive tone cuts a lot of mids and upper mids as well, which I want to keep. I know not all tone knobs are created equal though

Cool yeah I also just saw you'll be trying out the GHS (I think?) pressurewounds - I loved them! They didn't protect my fretless fingerboard as much as I'd hoped, so that bass went back to La Bella's Low Tension Flexible Flats, but I use those pressurewounds on another bass very happily!

 

[J.Wolf]

nice! I have a custom set of the low tension flats for my 6, and they are fantastic, but I need just a hair more bite than they deliver. I played a fretless with the low tension flats and was blown away. Nicely in between a trad flat and something like the TI's. super pliable with lots of character, but still definitely a "flat". thanks!

 

[Hobobob]

Smoother feel with less treble, but still a nickel round wound? You need GHS Pressurewounds.

 

[J.Wolf]

I'm liking what I'm hearing. Cant wait to slap on some pressurewounds!

well, maybe not slap exactly

 

[Hobobob]

They will do slap very well, they just won't do it with a crazy ice-pick high end

I put them on my Ibanez 6'er to tame the crazy treble it puts out, and I'm supremely happy with them.

 

[singlemalt]

The DR pure blues have turned out to be my favorite of the DR nickel alloys I've tried.

Another suggestion would be the Infeld Super alloy.

Both come in six string sets, but you could further fine tune the pure blues with the gauge choices.

The pure blues have an outer wrap that has a texture similar to low riders, but the feel is looser and softer. Not quite as soft as TI flats.

I ended up with the lowest action ever with the pure blues. As a fairly low price option, I couldn't be happier. I'll definitely reorder the 105-30 set, and try the lighter gauge as well. (I string E-C)

 

[hjschwartz]

Sfarzo makes some very nice strings cheap, and they last a really long time.

 

[JustForSport]

I've been doing that but rolling off the passive tone cuts a lot of mids and upper mids as well, which I want to keep. I know not all tone knobs are created equal though

Caps aren't hard to change and are very inexpensive-
if you've got a .047uF cap, try a .033uF or 0.022uF to retain the mids- lower value, the more (higher) mids are retained.

 

[J.Wolf]

Caps aren't hard to change and are very inexpensive-
if you've got a .047uF cap, try a .033uF or 0.022uF to retain the mids- lower value, the more (higher) mids are retained.

I'm not quite sure what caps are used in the new East uni-pre. it is better than most at retaining mids when rolled off, but my preference with this bass (and my last which had the same pre) is to set the treble frequency point really high, and use it as cut-only. that allows me to roll off sparkle and string noise only, and keep a lot more of the upper mids that I like than any passive tone knob i've encountered. It monopolizes the treble knob, but I never boost treble anyways, with how clean my rig is.

 

[J.Wolf]

Update:

got the GHS pressurewounds and tried them on a gig this weekend (thanks Jon Moody!!). I have to say, these really surprised me! Fantastic tone and feel, and the best middle ground between flats and rounds that I've come across. They really nail the best of both worlds. I love how they have the smooth feel and slight high end "thunk" of flats, but are flexible, quick and pliable like rounds. And theyre not too slinky or stiff. Overall, VERY nice. Highly recommended.

 

[winegamd]

I would try La Bellas nickels or D'Addario XL's. I know the D'Addarios mellow out quite nicely after a little play. I would steer clear of Dunlop Super Brights, Kaliums, and Earnie Ball Slinky's. I think they will have more top end than what you are looking for.

 

[J.Wolf]

I would try La Bellas nickels or D'Addario XL's. I know the D'Addarios mellow out quite nicely after a little play. I would steer clear of Dunlop Super Brights, Kaliums, and Earnie Ball Slinky's. I think they will have more top end than what you are looking for.

thanks for the info. I used Kaliums (then Circle K balanced 136 set) on my previous six which I loved the feel and sound of, for that bass, but were way too zingy on this instrument/didnt fit the vibe well enough.

Pretty stoked on the pressurewounds for now (they are REALLY nice feeling and sounding), but its nice to have a few more ideas going forward if I find I want to go back to a more mellow round. thx!